Arkansas whites-only community sued for discrimination by woman with black husband whose application to buy land was denied

By WILKO MARTÍNEZ-CACHERO, US REPORTER Published: 22:08, 20 May 2026 | Updated: 22:08, 20 May 2026 A whites-only community in Arkansas is being sued by a Caucasian woman who claims her membership application was rejected because she has a black husband. Michelle Walker, 49, claims in a lawsuit that she was discriminated against when her request to join Return to the Land (RTTL)'s 160-acre site near the rural town of Ravenden was refused in November last year. RTTL, which was launched in 2023, is described on its website as a private association 'for individuals and families with traditional views and common continental ancestry.'  Walker, a real estate worker who lives in St. Louis, Missouri, said she was not drawn to RTTL for its principles but was simply captivated by its 'exceptionally low' sale price.  RTTL is selling an acre of land for $1,000, significantly lower than the average price of land in the Ozarks which is around $4,000 per acre. Walker, who 'self–identifies as white,' believed she would be eligible to join the community based on its requirements and disclosed that she has Jewish ancestry on her mother's side, according to the complaint filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas viewed by the Daily Mail. Her husband is black and they have three biracial children, per the legal filing. She was given an interview by the community in which her background was explored, and about a month later her application was denied, the lawsuit states. Michelle Walker, 49, is suing whites-only community over claims they discriminated against her because she has a black husband Return to the Land (pictured from above) is being sued by real estate walker Michelle Walker, 49, for allegedly refusing to sell her land based on her race and religion  On Wednesday, she sued RTTL for 'refusing to sell her land on the basis of race and religion,' marking the first civil case against the group. She cited the Fair Housing Act and civil rights laws stretching back to 1866 in support of her argument. Walker said in her filing that her application saw her complete the group's application form in which she answered questions about her ancestry and religion. Walker said her father's side of the family came to the US in the 1600s and that her mother's side of the family was made up of Russian Jewish immigrants, per the complaint. The filing added that Walker's husband was specifically of Irish and African descent. When asked about her religion, Walker allegedly replied: 'I am a Christian. I believe Jesus died for my sins and through believing in him, I will have a heavenly eternal life.' Walker also faced questions about whether she supported 'segregation,' 'multiculturalism,' 'gay marriage' and 'transgenderism,' the filing added. Per the lawsuit, Walker was 'surprised' to see those sorts of questions on the housing application. The whites-only 160-acre site in Arkansas has been described as 'for European heritage' She thought they were 'clearly violating federal and state fair housing laws prohibiting consideration of race and religion in a land–sale decision,' according to the complaint. However, Walker went through with the questionnaire with the 'hope and expectation' that she would not be denied 'the right to buy the land' because of her answers, per the suit. About six weeks after submitting the application, Walker was allegedly interviewed by a RTTL member, who asked her if she 'belonged to any other white nationalist organizations,' according to the filing. When roughly one month went by without a response, Walker allegedly reached back out to her interviewer to ask when she would know about her pending approval. The interviewer told her that 'she should not expect her application to be approved,' the complaint read. Walker was never contacted by the group again and her application portal 'currently states that her application was not accepted as she was not an ideal fit for RTTL,' per the filing. Walker accused RTTL of denying her the right to purchase land 'based on her religion, ancestry, and the race of her family members, which are incompatible with RTTL's goal of establishing an all–white community.' The lawsuit claimed that RTTL had developed an 'extensive screening process to make sure that only white, non–Jewish people' can join their community in the Ozarks. Eric Orwoll, RTTL's co-founder of Return to the Land (RTTL), said the group was not surprised by the suit According to the lawsuit, RTTL developed an 'extensive screening process to make sure that only white, non–Jewish people' could join their Ozarks community  In addition, applicants have allegedly been asked to 'submit pictures or a video to confirm that they appear white.' The video interview was allegedly used to ‘do a "physiognomy check" to verify that the candidate "present[s] as White,”’ per the suit.  John Relman, one of the attorneys representing Walker in the legal case, said the suit 'sends the message to RTTL and any other white separatist organizations seeking to perpetuate segregation [that] the rule of law remains intact.' 'Our nation will not abandon the fair housing rights we have fought so hard to uphold and enforce,' Relman said. Walker is seeking damages and a court order that permanently forbids RTTL from engaging in the alleged discrimination. She is being represented by Washington DC fair housing law group Relman Colfax, the Legal Aid of Arkansas and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Walker said she was not concerned about her politics, beliefs, marriage or children because she had not planned on moving to the whites-only community. Her interest was based on real estate and the potential opportunity to eventually rent the land. Walker accused RTTL of rejecting her application 'based on her religion, ancestry, and the race of her family members,' per the complaint 'A good investment is a good investment,' Walker told The New York Times on Wednesday. 'There was never a plan for my husband and children to go there,' she added. 'I'm bold but I'm not stupid.' RTTL's co-founder, Eric Orwoll, said the group anticipated the lawsuit. 'This is going to be a competition between our right to freely associate and then civil rights laws, which seem contradictory to our claims,' Orwoll told the outlet. He added that the First Amendment and the right to freely associate would help RTTL win the case. Orwoll said last November that his group was 'for European heritage' and they want to 'perpetuate that,' according to 4029 News. He added that America 'was built by white Europeans, for white Europeans.' Orwoll argued that 'multiracial, multicultural societies' have 'lower trust' and 'people become less sociable.' Last year the Daily Mail reported that RTTL was home to at least 36 people.  The Daily Mail has reached out to Walker's attorneys and RTTL for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. 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